Clutch control mechanism



Jan. 19, 1954 A. EPPLER, JR

CLUTCH CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 8, 1951 [nuen for Andrew Eopler JZ" his Attorney A. EPPLER, J R

CLUTCH CONTROL MECHANISM Jan. 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 8, 19 51 Patented Jan. 19, 1954 UNITED ST ES PAT QFHC V CLUTCH CONTROLMECHA Andrew EDDIE!" Lynn, ass, assignor to United Machinery p ration, Flemin J" -Q9rl1 rati0n vpf :NBW Jersgy '*Application September 8, 1951,S erial No. 245,720

1 Claim. .1 I This invention relates to'clutch control mechanisms and ,it is herein disclosed as embodied in a .mechanism for controlling a Horton clutch of the type illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 2,158,192, granted May 16, 1939 upon the application of VernonH. Meyer. Although the mechanism herein disclosed is shown as operable upon a Horton clutch, it is equally suitable for use with rollingpin clutches or with sliding .pin clutches and, ingeneral, it can be applied to any self-engaging rotary clutch having a driven member which carries mean for disengaging the clutch. The control mechanism disclosed in the above-mentioned patent to gMeyer comprises a treadle which operates .a member engageable with the disengaging means on the driven member of :the clutch 605631156 the clutch to disengage, and if the operator desires to engage the clutch for only a single revolution he must promptly release the treadle ,or the clutch will remain engaged and the cycle of operations will be repeated until he doesrelease the treadle. A

number of such control mechanisms now in operationrequire the attention of theoperator 1 in promptly releasing the treadle whenever the machine is to-be stopped .-.at .the end of a single revolution.

It --is an object of the' present invention to provide 'a *simple modification whereby TfiXiSting =clutch control mechanisms of-the type disclosed in said Letters Patent 2,158,192 can, by relatively slight changes, he made non-repeating. This is accomplished in the illustrated mechanism by providing in the treadle mechanism a connection which is released by a cam on the driven clutch member to render the treadle inoperative before the driven clutch member has completed a revolution.

Referring now to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an illustrative clutch control mechanism in normal or clutchdisengaged position;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the mechanism immediately after engagement of the clutch;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the mechanism in readiness to cause disengagement of the clutch;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line V-V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line VI--VI of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line VII-VII of Fig. 4.

the pin 24.

.rnent 19 (Figs. 2and 3) whichcorrespond to the members v:40 and .190, respectivelvof the clutch disclosed in said Letters Patent.

In accordance with the {present :invention the clutch is normally held disengaged by a lug .20 engaging the arm Brand extendingup from an upstanding arm:22, of atholding lever in the form of abell, crank fulcrumed.upontapintM carried by a stationary frame .por.tion 12.6 v ofsthe machine.

The above-mentioned bell crankhas a forwardly extending arm 2 6 which is ur ed. 11D 7 by a compressionspring ;3,0 housed in an upright bore in the frame member 526. .Alug ;32 extending laterally fromthe upri ht ;arm;:2;2 of the .bell crank .is yieldinely .-he1d.by;;th ;sn :in .;3 n a ai 11a shoulder 34 (Ems-Band d):iormed-onthe frame portion 26 to maintainthelug 20in Clutch dis- '-.!13 fDQ5i QI.

The lug 2t canbegmovedaway from the dise n arm 181.25 .a ;la h.,.i.n th form of a block 36 pivotally mounted lpon apin ,38 which is carried by a trip n 1 er. 0:fu1crumed upon The QED/:01? .n .38 exten in th direction transverse to that of the fulcrum pin 24 so that when the tripping lever 40 swings about its fulcrum pin 24 the latch 36 will move positively with it. Extending forwardly from the tripping lever 40 is an integral arm 42 which is pivotally connected by a pin 44 to the upper end of a rod 46. The lower end of the rod 46 is pivotally connected to a treadle 48 which is fulcrumed upon a pin 50 mounted in bearings on the base of the machine. Extending transversely from the latch 36 is a latching lug 52 having an end which is engageable with a surface 54 formed on the arm 22 as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. A leaf spring 56 secured by screws 58 to the lever 40 bears against the latch 36 to urge said end of the lug 52 against the surface 54. The tripping lever 40 is yieldingly held in normal clutch disengaging position by a leaf spring 60 secured to the lever by screws 62 and having its lower end bearing against a lug 64 on the frame portion 26. When the treadle 48 is depressed the tripping lever 40 is rocked in a clockwise direction to bring the latch 36 from the position shown in Fig. 5 up against a shoulder 66 formed on the holding lever 22 normal to the path of movement of the holding lever about its fulcrum 24, and continued downward movement of the treadle will swing the lug 20 in a clockwise direction about the fulcrum pin 24 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 3. The clutch will now automatically engage and the shaft M will begin to rotate. Excessive depression of the treadle is prevented by a stop screw 61 threaded through the lower end portion of the tripping lever 40 and engageable with the lower end portion of the leaf spring 60 which bears against the lug 64.

In order to prevent undesired repetition of the cycle if the operator should neglect to release the treadle, means are provided for releasing the lug 20 from the control of the treadle. To this end a cam 68 is rigidly secured upon the driven clutch member M5. The periphery'of this cam 68 is engageable by a roll freely rotatable in the upper end of a bracket 12 which is rigidly secured upon the latch 36. When the treadle is depressed to release the lug from the disengaging arm 18, the roll 10 will swing into the path of the cam 68 and this cam has a rise 13 upon its periphery which, as the driven clutch member rotates, will engage the roll 10 and swing the latch 36 about its pivot pin 38 in opposition to the leaf spring 56. Such movement of the latch 36 will bring the lug 52 from the position shown in Fig. 6 into a position wherein it will be clear of the shoulder 66. The lug 20, thus freed from the latching lug 52, will snap back into its' initial position, as shown in Fig. 4, under the influence of the spring and after the high portion 13 of the cam 68 has passed the roll 10 the end of the lug 52 will come against a surface 16 formed on a flange extending from the arm 22. The lug 20, now being in clutch disengaging position, will engage the disengaging arm l8 as the driven member l6 comes to the end of its first revolution and disenagement of the clutch will take place. Release of the treadle 48 permits the spring 60 to return the tripping lever 40 and the latch 36 to their normal positions.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In combination with a self-engaging rotary clutch having a driving member, a driven member, and an arm associated with the driven memher for disengaging the clutch, control mechanism comprising a holding lever having a shoulder normal to its path of movement, means for yieldably maintaining the holding lever in a stopped position of engagement with the disengaging arm to hold the clutch disengaged, a fulcrum pin for said holding lever having its axis extending in a direction transverse to that of the axis of the clutch, a latch engageable with the shoulder of the holding lever to withdraw the holding lever from the disengaging arm and thereby enable the clutch to engage, a tripping lever fulcrumed on said fulcrum pin, said latch being pivotally mounted on the tripping lever for swinging movement relative thereto about an axis extending in a direction normal to that of the fulcrum pin, means for yieldably holding the latch in a position relative to the tripping lever wherein the latch can engage said shoulder, means for yieldably holding the tripping lever in a normal position wherein the latch is out of operative engagement withthe shoulder, thereby permitting the holding lever to maintain its said stopped position, treadle connections for swinging the tripping lever and with it the latch to move the latch against the shoulder and thereby withdraw the holding lever from the disengaging arm to permit engagement of the clutch, a cam on the driven clutch member, and means operated by the cam for swinging the latch about its pivotal mounting to, clear said shoulder, thereby releasing the holding lever from treadle control and enabling it to resume its stopped position in the path of rotation of the disengaging arm, in which position it will engage the disengaging arm at the completion of a revolution and cause the clutch to disengage.

ANDREW EPPLER, J a.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 784,653 Beyer May 14, 1905 1,765,527 Gollnick June 24, 1930 2,518,492 Reese Aug. 15, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,193 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1909 407,953 Germany Jan. 7, 1925 

